Brioni--what's the fuss?

"The brute covers himself, the rich man and the fop adorn themselves, the elegant man dresses!"

-Honore de Balzac

vonzippa
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Wed Feb 28, 2007 5:02 pm

Not withstanding people new to these forums, and my apologies to them, are we gentleman not tired of the Brioni value debate? Look, I am 6'2", 180lbs and a 42L Brioni fits me like a glove.

Does Brioni fit better than Bespoke? No, but it is close on me.

Is Brioni too expensive? Sure it is expensive compared to Bespoke, but I live in Houston so I do not have access to Bespoke all the time.

I guess what I am trying to say is that there are way too many factors that effect value with each and every one of us, that it is very difficult to have a value debate.

Also, as to Brioni being a good marketer. Sure they are. But the tone in some of the above post sound like this is a bad thing. Regardless of their marketing skill, Brioni is an excellent made product, and one should not have any worries at all about the construction of the garment when purchasing.

Now I think a more productive, and fun, debate is which maker has more handwork. I know we are splitting hairs with these debates to most people, but I actually learn a lot from them, which makes these debates productive to me.

I totally agree that there are many great manufactures, and one just needs to find the one for them, weather Bespoke, MTM, or OTR.
Mr JRM
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Wed Feb 28, 2007 7:52 pm

I consider a Brioni suit to be an excellent garment for me as an option if opt for made-to-measure. I would be interested to find out how your suits, and cloths, have "aged", vonzippa.

I agree that it would useful to get a Brioni suit dissected and compared so we can understand the location and contribution of the handwork in the garment and perhaps this is the place to do it. There are a lot of snippets across a number of sites but not as comprehensive and definitive as could be.
vonzippa
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Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:02 pm

Hi JRM,

All of my RTW suits (alll 4 of them) are made of a high thread count (super 150). I am one who thinks that these kind of fabrics should not be worn often. So to answer your question, my Brioni and Oxxford suits are aging very well, in a large part due to the usage. I am starting to think I can wear these more often though, and they are not as delicate as I first thought.

My two bespoke suits are made of hard wearing super 100. I wear these more often. But to be really honest, my favorite suit is a OTR 42L Brioni.

I think Oxxford and Kiton's handwork have been extensively talked about on the net, and like I said, I enjoy reading this because of the education I recieve. I know Brioni does not have quite the handwork as these two, but what they do have is the cut, and that is what works for me.
kirsch
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Thu Mar 01, 2007 11:20 pm

I guess what I've learned from all this is that it's just a matter of opinion. unless you're judging based on amount of handwork. i guess that all sounds obvious. But, as I said earlier, you see Daniel Craig in it and think "holy cow...that looks as good as any bespoke."

vonzippa, I am 6"2" and weigh 175. However, I'm not a fan of how Brioni fits (obvious from my post title). Again, different strokes for different folks.
edhayes
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Fri Mar 02, 2007 2:58 am

paying those prices for off the rack RTW suits is madness, a very fine tailor is 60% of the price. I think that mostly people buy for the security of the brand name.
vonzippa
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Fri Mar 02, 2007 3:23 pm

I totally agree with the assertion that the security of the brand is a deciding factor for me when I buy a suit, or anything for that matter.

Is the retail price for a Brioni suit madness? LOL, don't remind me. Sure a very fine bespoke suit can be had for 60% of that price. But if you figure in the time and travel costs associated to get to one these "very fine tailors" (living in Houston), then the bridge isn't nearly as far.

A side note, if Brioni is too expensive for you, and bespoke is out of the question due to logistics, go and try on an Oxxford Crest model. I tried one on last night at M. Penner and I loved it. The roping on the shoulders is absolutely awesome. And is about a third less than Brioni.

Damn, I love clothes.
kirsch
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Fri Mar 02, 2007 3:38 pm

vonzippa,

are there no bespoke tailors in Dallas (or ones which travel there)? I know that's a bit of a ways from Houston, but just curious...
Mark Seitelman
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Fri Mar 02, 2007 4:41 pm

vonzippa wrote:I totally agree with the assertion that the security of the brand is a deciding factor for me when I buy a suit, or anything for that matter.

Is the retail price for a Brioni suit madness? LOL, don't remind me. Sure a very fine bespoke suit can be had for 60% of that price. But if you figure in the time and travel costs associated to get to one these "very fine tailors" (living in Houston), then the bridge isn't nearly as far.

A side note, if Brioni is too expensive for you, and bespoke is out of the question due to logistics, go and try on an Oxxford Crest model. I tried one on last night at M. Penner and I loved it. The roping on the shoulders is absolutely awesome. And is about a third less than Brioni.

Damn, I love clothes.
I met the Penners at the Oxxford Store during "buyers' week." Mike Cohen was showing them the Fall, 2007, line. Nice people.
masterfred
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Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:31 pm

kirsch wrote:vonzippa,

are there no bespoke tailors in Dallas (or ones which travel there)? I know that's a bit of a ways from Houston, but just curious...
Forum member and tailor Chris Despos is in Dallas at least once a month.
vonzippa
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Fri Mar 02, 2007 6:44 pm

Yes, I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Depos a couple of times. And yes, we do have very good visiting tailors in Houston (I think Poole and Dege both come here annually, but you must wait over a year for the finished product). I have made the trip to NY and have had two bespoke suits made by one of the best. In the end, I prefer OTR or special order. I can feel the members cringing as I write this, but for me the fit is so good that it works for me.
Concordia
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Fri Mar 02, 2007 7:13 pm

They're nice-looking suits. And you're the one paying for them and wearing them.
edhayes
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Sat Mar 03, 2007 3:44 am

Mr Vonzippa: If you're six foot two and 180 pounds-you'd look good in a table napkin.
I hear such good things about Despos-I'd try him if he came to NYC.
The_Foxx
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Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:37 pm

wow, there are a lot of varied opinions on the Brioni brand. A couple of things, from my knowledge and experience with the brand (yes, I'm a fan-- have been wearing Brioni since 2001).

+ longevity. my first brioni garment was a medium blue, micro-herringbone, double vented jacket suit I bought used. it was in superb condition, and I would still be wearing it today had i not made such drastic alterations to the sleeves and the trouser waist (had them recut from 36 to 32). the cloth was probably a 300oz wool

+ just to set the record straight, Brioni has done true bespoke for many years. currently, they do bespoke work from the milan location and I BELIEVE from their Rome shop. You can read more about it from Departures magazine online (via google search), but it has also been discussed in other magazines in the last 2 yrs. they did true bespoke for Bond, if I remember correctly. their master tailor measured and fitted Brosnan, if I remember the story/ photos.

+ some of you are understandably big fans of bespoke, but many of us don't have access to savile row, the NYC tailors, and a very small number of tailors outside these two locations. You may disagree with me, but most custom/ bespoke tailors are terrible-- i would not pay even a grand for their work. My brionis look better than most of these tailors' creations, in my opinion.

I have a hard time following the gentleman's post that he doesn't care for kiton or brioni, but prefers armani. I don't know why you'd prefer the sloped shoulders that come to mind when i think of armani (and the mass-produced machine made suits), but to each his own/ everyone looks good in a certain cut/ brand, etc of their choice.

For the current look/ cut of a brioni, you can see a couple of good examples in the newest mens vogue magazine. there are ads for neiman marcus and barneys that have good photos. meanwhile, i have to wait until mid April to see/ try on my MTM Bergdorf creation, so I'm hoping for the best!
Thracozaag
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Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:07 pm

Marabunta wrote:I'm fifty-one years old. I've never found a Brioni or Kiton jacket, that I've wanted to own. I don't care for Borelli, either. Maybe it's because I'm only five foot seven . . . for me, Armani is best. .
You've lost me there.

koji
The_Foxx
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Thu Mar 15, 2007 7:53 pm

The photos of my new Brioni, hope you enjoy them-- I won't get to see and try on the suit until mid April, when I return to the USA. Looks like the only thing that really needs adjusting is the sleeve length, which may need to be longer by 1/4" or 1/2", which Bergdorf advised me to examine (with any other necc alterations) and send it back to them for final touches and handstitched sleeve buttonholes-- which they will have done by a woman from Naples who works for the store, kinda neat.

I think the photos came out with the stripes looking brighter than they actually are on the cloth swatch I have, maybe from the flash or the contrast of colors the digital camera uses, not sure.

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/863/suit1zz5.jpg

http://img458.imageshack.us/img458/7198/suit2kk4.jpg
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